theguide11e

E1 Missing Words

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To write effective prose, you need to supply all words necessary for clarity, completeness, and logic. Proofread your essays carefully, even out loud, to catch any omitted words.

FOR MULTILINGUAL WRITERS

If English is not your native language, you may have trouble with omitted words. See also T4.

E1-a Supply prepositions, conjunctions, infinitive parts, articles, and verb parts when needed for clarity.

In many instances, when you forget to include these small words, the reader may be puzzled or have to pause to figure out what you mean.

Insert missing prepositions.

FOR MULTILINGUAL WRITERS

If you are not a native speaker of American English, prepositions may be challenging because native speakers of English use prepositions in ways that do not translate directly. The best way to understand when prepositions are needed is to read widely and study the work of other writers. See also T3.

Insert missing conjunctions.

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A conjunction is generally needed to connect the final item in a series, such as financial and emotional strain in the first example and graphite in the second.

Restore the to omitted from an infinitive if needed for clarity.

Insert missing articles.

FOR MULTILINGUAL WRITERS

Nonnative speakers of English may be unsure when and when not to use the articles a, an, and the. For more advice on the use of articles, see T1.

Insert other missing words that help clarify or complete a sentence.

E1-b Insert the word that if needed to prevent confusion or misreading.

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Without that, the reader may think at first that the writer is pointing out golf and have to double back to understand the sentence. In the revised sentence, that tells the reader exactly where the dependent clause begins.

Note: If the meaning of a sentence is clear without that, it may be left out.

E1-c Add words to a comparison to make it logical, clear, and complete.

Because a comparison connects two or more things for the reader, you should name both things and state the comparison fully. In addition, the items compared should be of the same kind. For example, compare a person with another person, not with an activity or a situation. This sentence compares two stores:

(See also E7-c.)

Reword a comparison to specify comparable items of the same kind.

The original version of this sentence says that climbing is more challenging than companions (illogically comparing an activity to people). The edited sentence says that climbing is more challenging for Maria than it is for her companions (logically comparing one person to other people).

Reword a comparison to identify clearly and completely all items being compared.

In some comparative sentences, formal academic English requires the coordinated use of as.

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E1-d Supply all words needed to clarify the parts of a compound structure.

Although words may be left out of compound structures to avoid unnecessary repetition, omitted words must fit grammatically in each part of the compound.

When the same structure would not fit in each part, you need to supply the missing words — even if they are simply different forms of the same word.